TUTTLE 


UUlVCo^lTY  OF  HUM 


gERMON 


PREACHED  IN 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  GRISWOLD  COLLEGE, 

DAVENPORT, 


ON  THE 


DAY  OF  NATIONAL  THANKSGIVING, 

THURSDAY,  DECEMBER  7,  1865; 

BY  THE 

Rt.  Rev.  HENRY  W.  LEE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OF  THE  DIOCESE  OF  IOWA. 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


A 

SERMON 


PREACHED  IN 

THE  CHAPEL  OP  GRISWOLD  COLLEGE, 

DAVENPORT, 


ON  THE 

DAY  OF  NATIONAL  THANKSGIVING, 

THURSDAY,  DECEMBER  7,  1865; 


BY  THE 


Rt.  Rey.  HENRY  W.  LEE,  D.  D., 

BISHOP  OP  THE  DIOCESE  OP  IOWA; 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


DAVENPORT: 

PUBLISHING-  HOUSE  OF  LUSE  AND  GRIGGS. 

1865. 


The  following  Discourse  was  delivered  to  the  congregation  of 
“The  Bishop’s  Church/’  recently  organized,  and  now  worship¬ 
ping  in  the  Chapel  of  Griswold  College,  and  is  published  in  com¬ 
pliance  with  the  desire  of  some  who  heard  it*  It  was  prepared 
in  much  haste,  and  the  writer  is  fully  aware  that  it  presents  a 
very  inadequate  view  of  the  important  subjects  referred  to. 
Such  as  it  is,  it  is  respectfully  submitted  to  his  fellow-citizens 
generally,  as  his  humble  testimony  against  the  evil  deeds  of  the 
Nation,  and  its  great  trespass,  and  as  a  thank-offering  to  Al¬ 
mighty  God  for  the  signal  Deliverance  vouchsafed  to  our  beloved 
country  by  His  merciful  Providence. 


Davenport,  Iowa,  Dec.  12,  1865. 


H;  W.  Ia 


^31,5 

L3 1  ^ 


SERMON. 


Eziu,  ix.  13.  14.  A/fer  att  that  ts  come  upon  us  for  our  evil 
deeds ,  and  for  our  great  trespass ,  seeing  that  thou  our  God  hast  pun¬ 
ished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve ,  and  hast  given  us  such  de¬ 
liverance  as  this ;  should  we  again  break  thy  commandments  f 

About  eighty  years  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  Baby¬ 
lon,  the'  Prophet  Ezra  was  permitted  by  Artaxerxes,  king  of 
Persia,  to  go  and  visit  his  brethren  in  Judea;  and  was  em¬ 
powered  by  him  to  rectify  all  abuses  that  he  might  find  among 
them.  After  his  arrival,  he  heard,  to  his  unspeakable  grief, 
that  many  of  the  people  had  connected  themselves  by  mar¬ 
riage  with  the  surrounding  heathen.  He  therefore  humbled 
himself  before  God  on  their  account ;  and  looking  back  upon 
all  that  they  had  suffered  for  their  iniquities-,  and  the  mar¬ 
vellous  deliverance  which  God  had  vouchsafed  unto  them,  he 
expressed  his  surprise,  his  horror,  and  his  indignation,  at  their 
great  impiety.  “  After  all  that  is  come  upon  us  for  our  evil 
deeds,  and  for  our  great  trespass,  seeing  that  thou  our  God 
hast  punished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve,  and  hast 
given  us  such  deliverance  as  this ;  should  we  again  break  thy 
commandments  ?” 

The  people  had  experienced  from  time  to  time  the  dis¬ 
pleasure  of  God  on  account  of  their  sins  ;  and  from  time  to 
time  had  been  mercifully  delivered  from  His  judgrii'Onts; 
They  were  visited  with  alternate  mercies  and  affliction^  ;>At 
one  time,  they  were  scourged  with  pestilence,  and  at  another 
with  famine  or  the  sword ;  and  when  they  tuyned  from  their 
sins,  the  light  of  God’s  countenance  beamed  upon  them,  and 
they  were  prosperous  and  happy.  In  all  Ilis  dispensations 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


towards  them,  the  design  of  God  was  to  deter  them  from  sm. 
As  the  text  intimates,  the  judgments  that  came  upon  them 
were  for  their  “  evil  deeds,”  and  for  their  “  great  trespass 
and  yet  their  punishment  was  less  than  their  iniquities  de¬ 
served.  God  had  recently,  in  a  wonderful  manner,  delivered 
them  from  their  captivity ;  and  hence  their  ingratitude  was 
made  to  appear  in  a  stronger  light,  when,  under  these  circum¬ 
stances,  they  again  broke  His  commandments.  Ezra  deeply 
felt  and  bitterly  lamented  their  sins,  and  exclaimed,  in  the 
anguish  of  his  soul,  “O  my  God,  I  am  ashamed  and  blush  to 
lift  up  my  face  to  thee,  my  God :  for  our  iniquities  are  in¬ 
creased  over  our  head,  and  our  trespass  is  grown  up  unto  the 
heavens.  Since  the  days  of  our  fathers,  have  we  been  in  a 
great  trespass  unto  this  day ;  and  for  our  iniquities  have  we, 
our  kings,  and  our  priests,  been  delivered  into  the  haixd  of 
the  kings  of  the  lands,  to  the  sword,  to  captivity,  and.  to  a 
spoil,  and  to  confusion  of  face,  as  it  is  this  day.  And  now 
for  a  little  space  grace  hath  been  shewed  from  the  Lord  our 
God,  to  leave  us  a  remnant  to  escape,  and  to  give  us  a  nail  in 
His  holy  place,  that  our  God  may  lighten  our  eyes,  and  give 
us  a  little  reviying  in  our  bondage.  For  we  were  bondmen  ; 
yet  our  God  hath  not  forsaken  us  in  our  bondage,  but  hath 
extended  mercy  unto  us  in  the  sight  of  the  kings  of  Persia,  to 
give  us  a  reviving,  to  set  up  the  house  of  our  God,  and  to  re¬ 
pair  the  desolations  thereof,  and  to  give  us  a  wall  in  Judah 
and  in  Jerusalem.  And  now,  O  our  God,  what  shall  we  say 
after  this  ?  for  we  have  forsaken  Thy  commandments,  which 
thou  hast  commanded  by  Thy  servants  the  prophets.  O  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  Thou  art  righteous  ;  for  we  remain  yet  escaped, 
as  it  is  this  day ;  behold,  we  are  before  Thee  in  our  trespasses  ; 
for  we  cannot  stand  before  Thee  because  of  this.” 

God  rules  by  His  righteous  Providence  now,  no  less  than 
in  the  days  of  old ;  and  we  are  subjects  of  His  government,  no 
less  than  were  His  ancient  and  chosen  people  Israel. 

Let  us  therefore,  on  this  interesting  and  appropriate  occa¬ 
sion,  consider  God’s  recent  dispensations  towards  us  as  a  na- 


The  Great  Deliverance .  5 

tion ;  and  may  a  sense  of  His  unmerited  goodness  lead  ns  to 
repentance  ! 

I.  God  has  visited  our  sins  with  judgment. 

I  refer  to  our  sins  as  a  people ;  and  who  that  believes  in  the 
overruling  Providence  of  Almighty  God  can  for  a  moment 
doubt  that  the  late  visitation  of  the  sword  was  sent  upon  us 
for  our  evil  deeds  and  for  our  great  trespass.  Whatever  di¬ 
rect  or  indirect  benefits  may  have  resulted  or  may  yet  result 
from  the  unprecedented  contest  in  which  we  have  been  en¬ 
gaged,  it  should  undoubtedly  be  itself  regarded  as  an  actual 
judgment  from  heaven,  as  a  great  public  calamity,  sent  to 
punish  us  for  our  sins.  Indeed,  there  is  no  calamity  that  is 
not  occasioned  by  sin  against  God.  Sin  is  the  parent  of  all 
the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to ;  and  were  there  no  sin,  there  would 
be  no  national  judgments  and  no  individual  suffering.  It  was 
sin  that  brought  death  into  the  world  and  all  our  woe.  Hence 
there  can  be  no  private  or  general  distress  which  is  not  con¬ 
nected  with  sin  as  its  cause  and  origin.  Sin  existed  in  the 
world  before  any  natural  or  moral  evil  pressed  upon  the  hu¬ 
man  family,  and  made  it  liable  to  disease,  pain,  and  death. 
Sin  entered  the  world,  and  trouble  and  sorrow  by  sin ;  and 
now  trouble  and  sorrow  pass  upon  all,  for  that  all  have  sinned. 

The  scourge  of  war  does  not  seem  to  come  so  directly  from 
God  as  some  other  judgments  of  His  hand;  but  still  it  is  His 
awful  messenger,  sent  in  wrath  to  chastise  the  nations.  Other 
instruments  of  vengeance  are  ready  to  do  His  bidding;  and 
sometimes  famine  and  pestilence  are  commissioned  for  a  work 
more  fearful  and  fatal  than  that  of  the  battle-field ;  but  war 
has  most  commonly  been  made  the  agency  by  which  the  High 
and  Mighty  Euler  of  nations  has  punished  the  sins  of  nations, 
and  made  them  feel  that  it  is  an  evil  and  bitter  thing  to  set  at 
nought  His  authority,  and  depart  from  the  holy  command¬ 
ments  which  He  hath  given  unto  them.  Thus  it  conies  to 
pass  that  a  righteous  God  takes  war,  which  has  been  well 
styled  “  the  political  form  of  human  depravity,5’  and  employs 


6 


The  Great  Deliverance. 


it  for  tlie  punishment  of  that  which  is  its  cause  and  origin, — 
sin.  He,  for  His  own  wise  purposes,  makes  use  of  what  is  an 
abomination  in  His  sight, — occasioned  by  human  passion  and 
corruption,  and  permitted  by  Him  only  as  all  evil  is  permit¬ 
ted, — for  the  purpose  of  visiting  national  sins  with  penal  se¬ 
verity,  and  of  making  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him.  That 
kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  wTorld  may  gain  glory  from  the 
disasters  of  human  governments,  and  even  the  desolations 
and  miseries  of  war  may  be  the  precursors  of  an  advancing 
civilization  and  Christianity.  But  in  itself  war  is  a  monstrous 
evil ;  and  even  that  which  is  defensive,  and,  by  universal  con¬ 
sent,  justifiable,  as  the  last  resort  of  a  government  for  self- 
preservation,  is  fraught  with  unutterable  wretchedness  and 
woe,  and  conceals  not  the  true  character  of  war,  as  the  world’s 
emphatic  curse,  as  the  offspring  of  sin,  and  the  scourge  of 
guilty  nations. 

This  awful  judgment  of  God,  as  visited  upon  us,  has  been 
a  heavy  one  for  the  nation  at  large,  and  it  is  of  unspeakable 
importance  that  we  should  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God  in 
it.  His  Providence  inflicted  the  blow ;  and  if  we  do  not  trace 
His  displeasure  in  all  that  we  have  suffered,  and  turn  away 
from  our  iniquites  that  we  have  committed,  we  shall  heap 
upon  ourselves  fearful  aggravations  of  guilt,  and  incur  in¬ 
creased  indignation  and  punishment  from  Him  who  is  the 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  How  have  happy  homes 
been  desolated,  and  how  have  fond  hearts  been  made  to  bleed, 
during  the  progress  of  the  unjustifiable  and  wicked  rebellion ! 
How  many  precious  lives  have  been  sacrificed,  and  what  un¬ 
told  treasure  has  been  lavished,  in  the  awful  strife  !  The  land 
is  filled  with  widows  and  with  orphans,  and  lamentation  and 
weeping  and  mourning  are  heard  on  every  side.  Such  is  war, 

“Whose  harvest-field  is  human  life, 

Whose  sickle  is  the  reeking  sword  ! 1 1 

Well  might  England’s  great  Poet  exclaim, 

1 1  0  war,  thou  son  of  hell, 

Whom  angry  heavens  do  make  their  minister ! 1  ’ 

Such  has  it  been  to  us, — the  minister  of  vengeance  from  an 
offended  God,  punishing  us  for  our  evil  deeds,  and  for  our 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


7 


great  trespass.  Our  evil  deeds  had  long  testified  against  us, 
and  our  great  trespass  had  grown  unto  the  heavens.  By  irrev¬ 
erence  and  profanity  the  most  shocking,  by  intemperance  and 
Sabbath-breaking  the  most  open  and  unblushing,  by  avarice 
and  licentiousness  the  most  debasing  and  shameful,  and  by 
all  those  kindred  and  concomitant  vices  whose  name  is  Legion, 
we  were  ripe  for  our  punishment,  and  the  Lord  made  bare 
His  holy  arm  to  inflict  it  upon  us.  And  then  there  was  what 
may  justly  be  regarded  as  “  our  great  trespass,”  which  had 
grown  with  our  growth,  and  strengthened  with  our  strength, 
until  all  the  Divine  attributes  were  against  it,  and  the  nation 
was  ready  to  sink  under  the  heavy  burden  of  its  curse.  As  a 
mere  element  of  political  economy,  the  system  of  American 
Slavery  was  a  clog  upon  the  truest  prosperity  of  the  country. 
As  an  institution  inconsistent  and  anomalous  under  a  free  and 
popular  government,  it  had  long  exposed  us  to  the  just  re¬ 
proach  of  the  world  at  large ;  and  as  a  stupendous  moral  evil, 
it  was  an  offence  to  Him  who  is  the  God  and  Father  of  all 
mankind,  and  with  wdioni  there  is  no  respect  of  persons. 
Without  designing  or  desiring  to  refer  to  this  subject  in  any 
other  manner  than  such  as  is  suitable  and  proper  to  the  place 
and  the  occasion,  I  may  yet  express  the  prevailing  opinion  of 
our  own  people,  and  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  that  Slavery 
was  the  prime  occasion  of  our  civil  war.  If  so,  then  God,  in 
His  justice  and  judgment,  seized  upon  this  one  great  trespass, 
and  therewith  scourged  us  for  that  and  for  all  our  iniquities. 
Lie  has  punished  the  whole  nation,  for  we  had  sinned  as  a  na¬ 
tion.  As  in- other  sins,  so  in  this  great  trespass  in  particular, 
the  whole  people  were  joined  in  affinity,  and  were  confederate 
against  God.  The  South  was  not  alone  in  responsibility  as  to 
the  evil  in  question.  It  was  originally  national,  both  in  geo¬ 
graphical  extent,  and  in  legislative  provisions;  and  had  the 
institution  proved  as  profitable,  in  a  material  and  pecuniary 
point  of  view,  at  the  North  as  at  the  South,  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  it  would  have  been  so  soon  removed  from 
amongst  ourselves,  and  whether  at  the  present  moment  the 


s 


The  Grcdi  Deliverance . 


whole  land  might  not  he  suffering  from  its  presence  and  its 
abominations ;  though  I  am  very  far  from  believing  that  those 
who  have  labored  for  the  removal  of  this  evil,  in  our  day  and 
generation,  have  been  generally  actuated  by  motives  of  self- 
interest,  or  by  any  principle  less  noble  and  praise-worthy  than 
the  desire  to  do  good  to  their  fellow-men,  to  promote  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  their  country,  and  to  do  the  Divine  will.  The  whole 
nation,  I  repeat,  was  responsible  for  this  evil ;  and  neither  the 
fact  that  it  was  entailed  upon  us  by  the  mother-country  when 
we  were  her  colonies,  nor  the  persuasion  that  Divine  Provi¬ 
dence  might,  by  means  of  Slavery,  finally  advance  the  Afri¬ 
can  race  to  a  higher  degree  of  civilization  and  social  improve¬ 
ment,  could  form  any  just  excuse  for  the  continuance  of  the 
evil,  though  coming  to  us  by  inheritance,  and  though  to  be 
preferred,  in  our  estimation,  to  the  wild  barbarity  of  the  Afri¬ 
can  tribes.  It  is,  in  itself,  out  of  place  in  a  high  civilization, 
and  inconsistent  with  the  natural  rights  of  man,  and  with  the 
true  tenor  and  spirit  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  real  and  full  import 
of  the  curse  pronounced  by  Noah  upon  Canaan;  and  however 
true  it  may  be  that,  in  former  ages,  God,  in  His  wisdom 
and  justice,  ordained  and  doomed  certain  people  to  captivity 
and  servitude,  or  actual  destruction,  on  account  of  national  or 
ancestral  sins,  or  both  combined ;  it  may  yet  be  said,  without 
irreverence,  that  God  will  see  to  it  that  any  curse  of  His  own 
denunciation  is  duly  accomplished,  without  any  proffered  or 
voluntary  human  agency ;  and  that  under  the  Gospel  dispen¬ 
sation, — even  if  the  Africans  are  descendants  of  Canaan, — 
there  are  no  curses  for  them  or  for  others,  except  for  such  as 
are  finally  and  wilfully  impenitent  and  incorrigible ;  and  those 
curses  take  hold  on  the  soul  and  the  eternal  world.  Man  has 
no  authority  to  inflict  a  curse  upon  his  fellow-man,  unless  he 
receive  a  special  Divine  commission,  like  that  of  the  ancient 
Israelites,  by  virtue  of  which  they  made  a  destructive  and  ex¬ 
terminating  war  upon  the  Canaanites,  and  thus,  either  parti¬ 
ally,  or  to  the  full  extent,  verified  the  fearful  malediction  to 


The  Great  Deliverance. 


9 


which  we  have  referred,  and  which  was  uttered  as  many  as 
eight  hundred  years  before.  The  Gospel  dispensation  is  a 
dispensation  of  blessing,  not  of  cursing ;  and  we  are  most  like 
the  Divine  Master  himself  when  we  strive  to  relieve  the  suff¬ 
ering  and  the  oppressed,  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to 
raise  those  who  are  fallen,  and  to  bring  all  mankind  to  the 
blessed  light,  elevatioil,  privileges,  and  enjoyments  of  freemen 
in  Christ  Jesus; 

II.  Thus  have  we  been  punished  for  our  evil  deeds  and 
for  our  great  trespass ;  but  our  God  has  punished  us  less  than 
our  iniquities  deserve . 

Our  sufferings  have  by  no  means  equalled  our  sins.  If  we 
consider  the  enormity  of  any  one  of  our  national  sins,  already 
enumerated,  or  our  general  forgetfulness  of  God,  we  shall  be 
convinced  that  it  might  justly  bring  down  upon  us  all  that  we 
have  endured ;  and  if  God  had  proceeded  against  us  according 
to  the  tremendous  aggregate  of  our  offences,  we  should  have 
been  made  like  unto  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  O  how  fearfully 
have  we  resembled  God’s  ancient  but  ungrateful  and  disobe¬ 
dient  people,  when  it  was  said  concerning  them,  “  Shall  I  not 
visit  for  these  things  ?  saith  the  Lord :  and  shall  not  my  soul 
be  avenged  on  such  a  nation  as  this?” 

III.  But,  thanks  be  unto  His  name,  He  has  not  only  pun¬ 
ished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve  ; — He  has  vouchsafed 
us  a  gracious  deliverance . 

The  deliverance  granted  to  the  Jews,  in  their  return  from 
Babylon,  was  scarcely  inferior  to  that  which  they  had  former¬ 
ly  experienced,  in  their  departure  from  Egypt.  And  has  not 
ours  also  been  a  great  deliverance  ?  While  the  work  of  death 
was  going  on,  the  people,  with  remarkable  unanimity,  re¬ 
sponded  to  the  repeated  calls  of  the  departed  and  lamented 
Chief  Magistrate,  and  humbled  themselves  before  God,  im¬ 
ploring  His  pardoning  mercy,  and  entreating  Him  to  stay  the 
progress  of  the  desolating  judgment  which  our  sins  had 
brought  upon  us.  Both  rulers  and  people  seemed  to  have  the 


10 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


feelings  of  the  king  of  Nineveh,  when  he  and  his  subjects 
fasted  and  repented  under  the  threatenings  of  the  Most  High 
by  His  prophet  Jonah;  for,  said  he,  “Who  can  tell  if  God 
will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away  from  His  fierce  anger, 
that  we  perish  not?”  The  spectacle  was  a  sublime  one.  On 
the  day  appointed,  the  mass  of  the  people  refrained  from  their 
customary  employments,  and  to  outward  appearance,  at  least, 
bowed  themselves  before  the  Lord  in  deep  penitence  and  con¬ 
trition.  A  Sabbath  stillness  reigned  in  city  and  hamlet,  and 
from  the  lips  and  hearts  of  assembled  thousands  went  forth 
earnest  supplications  for  God’s  sparing  mercy.  There  was  an 
evident  and  pervading  feeling  that  God  was  in  the  war ,  and 
that  he  was  visiting  us  in  displeasure  for  our  sins  ;  thus  vindi¬ 
cating  His  own  authority,  as  well  as  providentially  paving  the 
way  of  the  nation  to  a  lofter  position  among  the  powers  of  the 
earth,  and  to  a  closer  accordance  with  His  own  Divine  will. 
And  who  can  say  that  that  general  humiliation  and  those 
earnest  prayers  had  no  connection  with  the  great  deliverance 
which  God  has  vouchsafed?  The  scourge  has  been  with¬ 
drawn,  and  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise  is  in  the  dwellings  of 
the  people.  The  mandate  has  gone  forth  to  the  death-angel, 
saying,  “It  is  enough,”  and  his  sword  is  sheathed.  True,  sor¬ 
row  and  anguish  are  in  many  a  heart  and  in  many  a  house¬ 
hold  on  this  glad  day ;  but  with  the  great  body  of  the  people 
fear  and  anxiety  have  given  place  to  cheerfulness  and  grati¬ 
tude,  and  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  the 
business  of  life  is  pursuing  its  usual  course,  our  citizen-soldiers 
are  quietly  resuming  the  avocations  of  peace,  and  we  all 
feel  that  the  danger  is  overpast.  There  is  indeed  much  pain¬ 
ful  solicitude  as  to  the  full  success  of  the  government  in  com¬ 
posing  the  elements  of  disaffection  and  strife  in  the  late  rebel- 
lious  States ;  and  there  is  not  a  little  anxiety  as  to  the  condi¬ 
tion  and  prospects  of  those  who  are  loosed  from  their  bonds, 
and  are  entering  upon  a  new  and  untried  career ;  as  though 
the  Providence  of  God,  which  has  thus  far  led  us  on  in  this 
great  work,  would  be  likely  to  fail  us  in  its  continuance  and 


The  Great  Deliverance. 


11 


completion !  This  solicitude  and  anxiety  do  widely  prevail, 
and  may  moderate  the  joy  of  some  in  all  parts  of  the  land; 
but  the  sound  of  battle  is  no  longer  heard,  and  as  a  nation  we 
are  keeping  this  our  festal  day  in  giving  thanks  to  Him  who 
hath  wrought  this  great  deliverance. 

It  would  seem  that  this  great  deliverance  could  not  fail  to 
fill  the  hearts  of  this  whole  people  with  emotions  of  gratitude 
and  praise  to  the  merciful  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect 
gift.  He  who  sent  the  judgment  has  taken  it  away ;  and  now 
our  thankfulness  to  Him  should  certainly  equal  the  fear  and 
anxiety  which  we  experienced  while  the  danger  was  hanging 
over  us.  The  Divine  goodness  in  our  national  preservation 
should  lead  us  to  national  repentance.  Repentance,  indeed, 
is  that  best  and  most  acceptable  thanksgiving  that  we  can  pos¬ 
sibly  offer  unto  our  God ;  and  we  cannot  offer  it  aright,  unless 
we  connect  with  it  a  sincere  and  unreserved  dedication  of 
ourselves  to  Him  in  a  sober,  righteous,  and  godly  life.  We 
shall  prove  ourselves  unworthy  of  the  least  of  His  mercies,  if, 
after  He  has  done  such  great  things  for  us,  we  fail  to  give 
Him  the  homage  of  grateful  hearts,  and  live  on  unmindful  of 
His  laws,  and  regardless  of  His  will.  It  is  recorded  of  the 
wicked  king  of  Egypt,  that  when  he  “saw  that  the  rain,  and 
the  hail,  and  the  thunders  were  ceased,  he  sinned  yet  more, 
and  hardened  his  heart,  both  he  and  his  servants.”  While 
the  Divine  judgments  were  actually  upon  him,  he  seemed  to 
have  some  sense  of  sin,  and  some  fear  of  God ;  but  as  soon  as 
they  were  removed,  he  became  more  hardened  in  his  wicked¬ 
ness,  and  more  determined  in  his  rebellion.  While  he  felt 
the  Divine  chastisements,  he  resolved  to  obey  the  Divine  will, 
and  let  the  people  go ;  but  when  the  plagues  ceased,  he  forgot 
the  vows  he  had  made  in  his  trouble,  and  persisted  in  his  re¬ 
fusal  to  comply  with  the  Divine  command.  O  may  the  rulers 
and  people  of  this  favored  land  take  warning  from  this  case, 
recorded  for  our  learning,  and  beware  lest  now  that  the  judg¬ 
ment  of  God  has  passed  away,  they  forget  the  good  resolu¬ 
tions  made  in  time  of  danger  and  calamity;  and,  repudiating 


12 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


that  righteousness  which  exalteth  a  nation,  fall  again  into  those 
sins  which  are  a  reproach  to  any  people.  It  does  seem  to  me 
that,  if  after  all  that  has  come  upon  us  for  our  evil  deeds,  and 
for  our  great  trespass,  we  do  not  enter  upon  a  more  elevated 
national  career,  conforming  more  closely  to  the  Divine  word 
and  will,  and  letting  our  light  shine  before  the  nations,  we 
shall  deserve  the  most  awful  disasters  that  were  ever  visited 
upon  the  kingdoms  and  governments  of  this  world,  and  be  in 
danger  of  utter  destruction  from  the  wrath  of  an  offended 
God. 

IY.  How  earnestly,  then,  should  the  people  of  these  United 
States  consider  the  interrogation  of  the  prophet,  “  Seeing  that 
thou  our  God  hast  punished  us  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve, 
and  hast  given  us  such  deliverance  as  this ;  should  we  again 
break  thy  commandments  ? ” 

The  whole  of  the  second  verse  of  the  text  is  as  follows,  and 
it  is  most  singularly  and  remarkably  appropriate  to  us  at  the 
present  time :  “  Should  we  again  break  Thy  commandments, 
and  join  in  affinity  with  the  people  of  these  abominations? 
Wouldest  Thou  not  be  angry  with  us  till  thouhadst  consumed 
us,  so  that  there  should  be  no  remnant  nor  escaping?”  The 
entire  reunion  of  this  nation  is  the  most  desirable  event  in 
the  civil  affairs  of  the  age  in  which  we  live ;  and  God  grant 
that  the  work  of  reconstruction  may  be  as  speedily  accom¬ 
plished  as  will  be  consistent  with  the  stability  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  highest  good  of  the  whole  people.  But  most 
important  of  all  is  it  that  we  come  together  again  upon  the 
basis  of  justice,  righteousness  and  truth.  We  were  all  sin¬ 
ners  together,  and  together  provoked  the  anger  of  the  Lord, 
especially  by  our  great  trespass ;  and  now  let  us  see  to  it  that 
we  do  not  join  in  affinity  with  those  who  endeavored  to  sepa¬ 
rate  from  us,  to  do  any  of  the  abominations  for  which  we 
have  all  been  punished,  and  more  particularly  to  commit  that 
great  trespass,  which,  while  it  had  rested  more  immediately 
upon  them  for  many  years,  and  had  become  interwoven  in 
the  very  texture  of  their  political  and  social  existence,  was 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


13 


yet  a  trespass  in  which,  as  I  have  said,  we  were  all  concerned, 
and  for  the  apparent  removal  of  which  we  all  ought  to  rejoice 
together,  and  give  thanks  to  God  for  so  great  a  deliverance. 
I  cannot  suppose  that  human  bondage  will  ever  again  be  le¬ 
galized  within  our  borders.  The  memorable  proclamation  of 
the  fallen  Commander  in  Chief,  and  the  voice  of  Congress 
and  of  the  people  in  an  amended  Constitution,  will  undoubt¬ 
edly  prove  insuperable  barriers  to  the  return  of  this  great  evil ; 
but  an  institution  so  long  established  dies  hard,  and  some  of 
its  unhappy  peculiarities  and  influences  may  linger  for  years 
after  it  has  itself  received  its  death-blow,  and  is  numbered 
among  the  things  of  the  past.  The  people  should  not  feel 
that  the  whole  work  of  repentance  for  this  trespass  is  accom¬ 
plished,  until  every  vestige  of  it  is  put  out  of  sight,  and  they 
have  done  all  in  their  power  to  elevate  and  save  an  oppressed 
and  downtrodden  race,  who  this  day  call  for  our  sympathy  and 
aid,  and  who  will  rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  us  and  con¬ 
demn  us,  unless  we  endeavor  to  fulfill, with  reference  to  them, 
that  golden  rule  of  our  common  Lord  and  Master,  “  Whatso¬ 
ever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them :  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets.’5 

This  subject,  my  brethren,  is  one  of  great  practical  import¬ 
ance;  and,  in  conclusion,  I  urge  upon  you  its  most  serious  and 
prayerful  consideration.  I  ask  you  to  take  a  strictly  religious 
view  of  the  whole  matter,  and  to  dismiss  from  your  minds  all 
mere  political  and  party  preposessions  and  feelings.  For  my 
own  part,  I  will  never  intentionally  bring  into  the  pulpit  the 
ordinary  topics  and  controversies  of  politicians  and  statesmen. 
Our  people  see  and  hear  enough  of  these  things  in  the  pub¬ 
lic  newspapers,  and  in  the  daily  intercourse  of  life.  But  from 
these  sources  they  do  not  often  learn  their  duties  and  respon¬ 
sibilities  as  Christian  citizens,  who,  while  they  render  unto 
Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar’s,  are  solemnly  bound  to 
render  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God’s.  These  duties  and 
responsibilities  should  be  enjoined  from  time  to  time  by  the 
ministers  of  religion,  though  they  should  exercise  great  can 


14 


The  Great  Delivera7ice. 


tion  as  to  tlie  frequency  of  tlieir  introduction,  and  the  detailed 
mode  of  their  treatment.  During  the  progress  of  the  war, 
my  own  allusions  to  it,  in  sermons  and  in  the  Convention  of  the 
Diocese,  were  never  made  in  the  spirit  of  a  political  partisan, 
or  from  a  desire  to  favor  or  gratify  any  political  or  party  or¬ 
ganization.  From  the  first  awful  gun  at  Sumter,  to  the  sur¬ 
render  of  the  last  armed  band  of  the  rebellion,  I  have  en¬ 
deavored,  on  all  proper  occasions,  to  make  a  religious  use  of 
the  war,  and  to  lead  the  people  to  regard  it  as  a  Divine  judg¬ 
ment  upon  the  sins  of  the  nation,  calling  loudly  for  repent¬ 
ance  and  amendment,  and  forewarning  us  of  still  more  fiery 
indignation,  if  we  continued  in  our  evil  deeds,  and  in  our 
great  trespass,  and  turned  not  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  in  the 
ways  of  His  laws  and  in  the  works  of  His  commandments. 
And  now  that  the  “  seditious  tumults  ”  have  been  appeased, 
and  we  are  delivered  from  “  those  great  and  apparent  dangers 
wherewith  we  were  compassed,55  I  would,  as  a  servant  of  the 
Most  High,  call  upon  the  people  to  acknowledge  His  good¬ 
ness  and  loving-kindness  in  our  defence  and  protection,  and 
to  praise  His  holy  Name  for  so  signally  interposing  in  our 
behalf,  that  the  authority  of  the  Government  is  re-established 
over  the  whole  land,  and  a  “great  enlargement55  given  to 
civil  liberty,  in  the  removal  of  involuntary  servitude,  and 
thereby  of  a  principal  cause  of  all  our  national  discords  and 
contentions. 

It  was  with  these  same  feelings  and  motives  that  I  was  con¬ 
strained,  in  our  recent  General  Convention,  to  give  my  voice 
and  my  vote  in  favor  of  returning  thanks  to  God  for  these 
benefits,  in  addition  to  those  of  the  “  restoration  of  peace  to 
the  country,  and  of  unity  to  the  Church 55 ;  though,  at  the 
same  time,  I  could  not  call  in  question  the  Christian  sincerity 
and  patriotism  of  the  great  body  of  the  Bishops  and  Deputies 
who,  from  “  an  extreme  desire  for  conciliation  and  harmony,55 
or  from  general  views  of  ecclesiastical  policy  and  expediency, 
so  controlled  the  action  of  the  Convention,  that  its  public 
Thanksgiving  was  restricted  to  a  partial  acknowledgment  of 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


15 


tlie  blessings  received  and  of  tlie  evils  averted  by  the  wonder¬ 
working  Providence  of  Almighty  God.  This  course  does  not 
at  all  impair  my  confidence  in  the  Church  itself, — in  its  fealty 
to  its  Divine  Head,  or  in  its  true  loyalty  to  our  beneficent 
Government, — especially  when  it  is  so  apparent  to  almost  every 
one  that  there  is  great  room  for  an  honest  difference  of  opin¬ 
ion  as  to  the  extent  to  which  such  subjects,  important  as  they 
are,  should,  in  such  a  country  as  ours,,  be  brought  into  ecclesi¬ 
astical  debate  and  legislation.  I  frankly  confess  that  it  was 
my  earnest  desire  that  if  any  action  whatever  was  to  be  taken 
on  this  subject  by  the  General  Convention,  we  should,  as  a 
Church,  at  such  a  crisis  in  our  national  history,  solemnly  re¬ 
cognize  the  hand  of  God  in  the  momentous  events  brought 
about  so  wonderfully  by  His  all- wise  Providence, — the  preser¬ 
vation  of  the  Union  amidst  such  unprecedented  dangers,  and 
the  actual  or  prospective  removal  of  the  most  prominent  cause 
of  national  discord,  in  the  extinction  of  the  evil  of  Slavery. 
But  if  the  policy  adopted  shall  really  serve  to  conciliate  and 
harmonize  our  Southern  brethren  generally,  or  those  of  our 
own  Church  in  particular,  and  make  them  more  fully  inclined 
to  unity  and  concord,  both  in  the  State  and  in  the  Church, 
surrendering  their  sectional  feelings,  and  their  separate  and 
premature  ecclesiastical  organization, — I  shall  be  compara¬ 
tively  content ;  while  I  might  still  individually  regret  that 
such  action  of  the  Convention  should  have  been  deemed  ex¬ 
pedient  as  would  unavoidably  involve  the  sad  disappointment 
of  so  many  among  ourselves,  and  of  such  multitudes  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  who  appreciate  our  influence,  and  who  strongly 
desired  to  hear  our  voice  in  a  more  emphatic  tone,  under  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  nation  has  been  placed  by  God’s 
providential  dispensations. 

My  brethren,  it  is  our  individual  as  well  as  national  duty 
to  make  a  faithful  use  of  these  dispensations,  by  seeking  to  be 
preserved  from  again  breaking  the  Divine  commandments. 
He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation,  and  He  demands  of  us 
an  individual  and  national  recognition  of  His  goodness,  and 


16 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


devotion  to  His  service.  He  liatli  given  us  a  good  laud,  & 
land  wherein  we  may  eat  bread  without  scarceness,  a  land 
whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  we  may  dig 
brass ;  a  land  of  fruitful  seasons  and  plentiful  harvests,  of  un¬ 
equalled  civil  blessings  and  religious  privileges ;  and,  under 
these  circumstances,  let  us  beware  that  we  forget  not  the  Lord 
our  God,  in  not  keeping  His  commandments,  and  His  judg¬ 
ments,  and  His  statutes,  which  He  hath  commanded  us.  Let 
us  shun  all  sin,  and  walk  before  Him  in  all  holy  obedience. 
Sin  is  the  abominable  thing  which  His  soul  hateth,  and  He 
will  surely  punish  it  in  this  world  or  in  the  next.  Nations  are 
punished  here,  and  individuals  here  or  hereafter;  but  they  are 
both  sure  to  suffer,  if  they  transgress  the  Divine  laws.  Let 
us  then  make  our  peace  with  God,  and  learn  righteousness 
from  His  avenging  judgments.  And  let  our  righteousness  be  of 
that  genuine  and  practical  kind  which,  while  it  takes  hold  on 
God,  is  tenderly  mindful  of  the  wants  and  woes  of  our  fellow- 
men.  Let  us  remember  the  needy  and  the  destitute*  the 
widow  and  the  orphan,  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  the  suffering 
and  the  sorrowful.  Let  us  send  portions  to  those  for  whom 
nothing  is  prepared,  and  make  ourselves  happy  by  contribut¬ 
ing  to  the  happiness  of  others.  The  trumpet  of  the  Winter 
storms  is  already  sounding  far  and  wide,  and  the  cold  winds  are 
rushing  and  howling  around  the  habitations  of  the  poor.  Let 
us  remember  them  in  our  joy  to-day,  and  especially  those  or 
the  families  of  those  who  went  forth  in  our  defence,  and  se¬ 
cured  to  us,  through  the  Divine  blessing,  our  great  deliver-* 
ance,  for  which  we  are  now  giving  thanks.  Let  us  not  forget 
those  fatherless  ones,  gathered  here  in  our  midst,  the  children 
of  those  who  willingly  gave  their  lives  for  their  country’s  sab 
vation,  and  in  deep  gratitude  to  whose  memory  we  should 
take  pleasure  in  caring  for  those  they  left  behind.*  Let  us  be 
Christian  disciples  and  Christian  citizens,  acknowledging 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  King  and  Governor,  as  the  Prince  of 


^Several  hundred  children  are  gathered  at  Davenport  in  the  1  lIowa  Soldiers’ 
Orphans’  Home.” 


The  Great  Deliverance . 


17 


Peace,  and  the  Lord  our  Righteousness,  the  Guide  of  our  life, 
and  the  Savioitr  of  our  souls.  It  is  because  of  His  blessed  ad¬ 
vent  and  the  principles  of  His  holy  Gospel,  that  we  enjoy  the 
inestimable  privileges  which  characterize  us  as  a  nation ;  and 
let  us  so  cultivate  the  spirit  of  His  pure  religion,  that  we  may 
rise  higher  and  higher  in  all  that  makes  a  people  truly  great 
and  happy;  and  so  transmit  to  coming  generations  the  pre¬ 
cious  boon,  received  from  our  fathers,  defended  and  preserved 
and  enhanced  by  ourselves,  under  God’s  favoring  Provi¬ 
dence, — even  that  liberty  and  independence  by  which  ive 
have  secured  an  honored  name  among  the  principalities  and 
powers  of  the  earth,  which  are  priceless  blessings  for  the  life 
that  now  is,  and  which  should  ever  remind  us  of  that  glorious 
liberty  of  the  sons  of  God,  which  is  begun  here  below  by  faith 
in  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  at¬ 
tains  unto  its  full  consummation  and  perfection  in  that  heavenly 
kingdom  above,  where  is  fulness  of  joy,  and  where  are  pleas¬ 
ures  forevermore. 


APPENDIX, 


The  following  correspondence  is  inserted  here,  in  order  to  give  more  fully  to 
the  readers  of  the  foregoing  Discourse  the  views  of  its  author  in  regard  to  the 
action  of  the  General  Convention,  to,  which  he  therein  makes  brief  reference. 
It  appeared  originally  in  the  Davenport  Daily  Gazette ,  of  Nov.  18,  1865. 


} 


Griswold  College),  Davenport,  Iowa, 
November  11,  1865. 


Bishop  Lee. 


Rigid  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir :  In  common  with  many  in  our  Church  as  well  as 
out  of  it,  I  have  been  pained  and  disappointed  at  the  course  of  our  recent  Gen¬ 
eral  Convention  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  the  country,  and  have  received  impres¬ 
sions  with  reference  to  the  majority  of  that  body,  in  both  houses,  which  I  would 
gladly  have  removed,  if  possible.  Knowing  your  general  views  and  sympathies 
as  to  the  matters  in  question,  and  seeing  your  name  appended  to  a  statement 
made  by  the  minority  in  the  House  of  Bishops,  I  beg  leave  to  ask  you  to  give 
me  such  information  on  the  subject  as  may  be  consistent  with  your  views  of  pro¬ 
priety  as  a  member  of  a  body  whose  doings,  in  their  details,  are  not  ordinarily 
made  known  to  the  public.  I  make  this  request  in  the  hope  that  my  own  mind 


3 


IS 


Appendix. 


may,  in  some  measure,  be  relieved,  and  that,  in  such  case,  I  may,  with  your 
consent,  make  such  use  of  your  reply  as  may  relieve  others  also. 

With  great  respect,  I  remain  yours  faithfully,  D.  S.  SHELDON. 


Davenport,  November  13,  18G5. 

My  Dear  Professoi'  Sheldon  :  Yours  of  the  11th  inst.  has  been  received,  and  I 
cheerfully  comply  with  your  request,  consenting  that  you  may  make  such  use  of 
my  reply  as  you  may  deem  desirable  and  expedient,  though  regretting  that  my 
numerous  engagements  and  somewhat  impaired  health  will  not  allow  me  to  give 
that  attention  to  the  subject  which  its  importance  demands,  and  which  you  have 
a  right  to  expect. 

I  went  to  the  General  Convention  with  the  expectation  that  the  matter  refer¬ 
red  to  would  almost  necessarily  come  up  for  consideration  and  action,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  Ecclesiastical  position  of  our  Southern  brethren,  whether 
any  of  them  should  be  present  or  not ;  though  I  had  not  in  my  mind  any  definite 
plans  of  procedure  in  regard  to  the  delicate  and  important  points  involved  in  the 
case;  w^hile,  at  the  same  time,  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  have  the  Church  stand 
firmly  by  the  country  and  its  government,  and  also  show  a  disposition  to  treat 
with  brotherly  kindness  and  charity  those  who  had  separated  from  us  under  what 
they  regarded  the  necessities  of  the  position  in  which  they  were  placed  by  the 
then  existing  war,  but  who  might  be  expected  to  retrace  their  steps  when  the 
war  had  ended,  and  its  objects,  on  the  part  of  the  South  had  failed  of  fulfilment. 

By  common  consent,  the  General  Convention  practically  regarded  the  organi¬ 
zation  of  11  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of  Ameri¬ 
ca1  1  as  a  nullity  and  the  Bishops,  Clergjq  and  Laity  of  the  South  as  truly  in  the 
u Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States  of  America”  as  before  the 
rebellion.  That  organization  was  really  set  aside  and  ignored  by  the  reception 
of  the  Bishop  and  Deputies  from  North  Carolina,  of  the  Missionary  Bishop  of 
the  South  West,  and  of  the  Deputies  from  Texas;  as  well  as  by  the  action  of 
both  Houses  with  reference  to  the  Bishop  of  Alabama.  It  was  evidently  con¬ 
sidered  that  that  premature  organization  lapsed  with  the  “Confederacy;”  or, 
rather,  that  neither  ever  had  any  legal  or  valid  existence.  This  view  of  the  case 
is  necessary  to  a  right  appreciation  of  the  motives  that  actuated  a  large  portion 
of  the  Bishops  and  Deputies  in  their  votes  on  the  various  forms  in  which  this 
whole  subject  came  before  them.  The  majority  thought  that  no  action  should  be 
taken  which  would  be  at  ail  calculated  to  give  offence  to  the  members  from  the 
South,  or  to  the  South  generally,  and  so  endanger  or  delay  that  complete  reunion 
which  all  feel  to  be  desirable.  Hence  they  opposed  the  expression,  in  resolu¬ 
tions,  or  in  the  Thanksgiving  service,  of  any  opinions  or  sentiments  in  which  all 
could  not  unite,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  better  to  refrain  from  action  which  was 
right  in  itself,  though  not  absolutely  necessary,  than  to  take  such  action  and  of¬ 
fend  those  whom  all  wished,  in  every  proper  way,  to  conciliate.  Hence  the 
rejection  of  various  resolutions  in  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies,  and 
the  course  of  the  House  of  Bishops  in  relation  to  the  day  of  Thanksgiving.  It 
was  decided  by  a  majority  of  the  Bishops  that  the  special  form  for  that  occasion 
should  express  thanks  to  God  “for  the  return  of  peace  to  the  country,  and  of  unity 
to  the  Church;”  while  the  minority  was  anxious  to  include,  with  these  blessings, 
the  restoration  of  the  authority  of  the  Government,  over  ttie  whole  country ,  and  the  removal 
of  the  great  evil  of  human  bondage.  One  of  the  Southern  Bishops  stated  to  the 
House  that  the  people  of  the  South  could  not  be  expected  to  be  thankful  for  their 
own  defeat,  that  they  submitted  to  the  United  States  Government  from  necessity, 
and  that  while  they  fully  intended  to  be  good  citizens,  he  thought  that  he  and 
those  situated  like  him  ought  not  be  called  upon  to  join  in  a  service  such  as  was 
desired  by  what  proved  to  be  a  minority  of  the  House.  He  intimated  that  he 
might  not  in  all  things  go  so  far  as  some  at  the  South;  but  he  hoped  his  brother 
Bishops  would  confine  themselves  to  thanksgiving  for  the  restoration  of  peace  to 


Appendix. 


19 


the  country,  and  of  unity  to  the  Church,  as  in  this  all  could  heartily  unite.  It 
was  also  stated  that  many  in  the  Church,  both  at  the  North  and  the  South,  did 
not  regard  the  freedom  of  the  negroes  as  a  blessing,  either  to  themselves  or  to  the 
country,  and  therefore  that  that  subject  should  not  come  into  the  thanksgiving 
prayer. 

Some,  in  both  Houses,  were  opposed  to  any  action  whatever  on  the  subject, 
on  the  ground  that  Ecclesiastical  bodies  should  confine  themselves  wholly  to  Eccle¬ 
siastical  matters.  These,  however,  voted  with  the  majority,  to  prevent  a  result 
that  they  deemed  more  objectionable  than  the  one  which  was  actually  reached. 

In  the  House  of  Bishops,  the  minority  contended  that  thanksgiving  for  the  re¬ 
turn  of  peace  to  the  country,  and  of  unity  to  the  Church,  did  not  include  all  for 
which  we  were  bound  to  be  thankful  to  the  God  of  our  fathers;  and  that  if  we 
omitted  the  restoration  of  the  authority  of  the  Government  over  the  whole 
land,  and  the  removal  of  involuntary  servitude  from  our  borders,  we  omitted  the 
chief  blessings  which  Divine  Providence  had  worked  out  for  us  by  the  awful  judg¬ 
ments  of  his  hand.  It  was  suggested  by  one  Bishop  that  it  were  better  to  have 
no  such  service  as  was  proposed,  than  to  refuse  to  thank  God  for  the  very  things 
that  we  had  so  long  prayed  for,  and  which  had  been  so  wonderfully  brought  to 
pass  by  His  mighty  power.  But  as  the  Bishops  had  appointed  a  day  of  Fasting 
during  the  Convention  of  1862,  tvhen  the  fearful  contest  was  in  progress,  and  as 
now  a  day  of  Thanksgiving  was  generally  expected,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
make  the  appointment,  and  it  was  made  and  observed  accordingly.  The  service 
was  an  interesting  one,  and  though  all  my  feelings  and  desires  were  not  met  and 
satisfied  thereby,  I  yet  found  much  enjoyment  on  the  obcasion,  and  felt  that  it 
was  good  to  be  there.  The  special  'thanksgiving  was  more  full  and  comprehen¬ 
sive  than  was  anticipated  under  the  circumstances,  and  for  one  I  was  rejoiced 
that  the  great  body  of  the  Convention  could  adopt  language  that  came  so  near  to 
that  which  the  minority  had  endeavored  to  incorporate  in  the  appointed  service. 

When  it  became  fully  apparent  that  no  expression  of  views  could  go  forth  from 
either  House  that  would  be  at  all  unacceptable  to  the  Southern  brethren,  or  meet 
the  earnest  desires  of  many  in  the  Church  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and 
the  expectations  of  multitudes  of  our  fellow- citizens  not  of  our  communion,  the 
minority  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies  presented  a  Protest  to  the  action  of  that 
House;  and  at  the  very  close  of  the  Convention  the  minority  of  the  Bishops  made 
a  brief  statement  of  the  case  to  that  House,  and  it  has  since  been  given  to  the 
public  through  the  columns  of  the  religious  and  secular  papers.  In  signing  the 
statement,  I,  for  my  part,  was  very  much  influenced  by  a  desire  to  bear  my  tes¬ 
timony  against  the  public  impression  that  the  majority  of  the  Bishops,  as  well  as 
of  the  Deputies,  were  disloyal  to  the  Government,  and  in  real  sympathy  with 
the  South  in  its  secession  and  rebellion.  This  I  did  not  and  do  not  believe.  A  por¬ 
tion  of  the  statement  is  as  follows:  11  The  House  of  Bishops  unquestionably  lov¬ 
ed  their  country  and  its  unity,  and  they  could  not  approve  the  system  of  human 
bondage;  but  they  will  stem  to  have  adopted  as  the  position  to  be  henceforth  oc¬ 
cupied  by  this  Church,  one  wrhich  is  consistent  with  indifference  to  the  safety 
and  unity  of  the  nation,  and  to  the  freedom  of  the  oppressed.  This  is  a  position 
which,  as  the  undersigned  believe,  should  not  be  maintained  by  any.  branch  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  the  United  States,  whether  in  the  present  or  any  future 
generation.  To  signify  that  it  wras  not  accepted  by  all  on  this  occasion,  and  that 
those  who  did  not  accept  it  believed  it  to  be  accepted  at  all,  only  because  an  ex¬ 
treme  desire  for  conciliation  and  unanimity  prevailed  for  the  hour, — the  undersign¬ 
ed  have  prepared  this  document,  with  perfect  and  cordial  respect  for  their  breth¬ 
ren,  but  under  the  consciousness  of  a  great  duty  to  the  inseparable  interests  of 
their  beloved  Church  and  country.  ’  ’ 

The  public  mind  had  become  much  excited  against  the  Convention,  and  the  be¬ 
lief  was  quite  general  that  it  was  under  the  control  of  designing  politicians  and  of 
Southern  influences ;  and  it  seemed  due  to  the  majorit}^  that  those  who  had  felt 
obliged  to  differ  from  them  should  declare  their  conviction  that  their  brethren 


20 


Appendix. 

were  actuated  by  pure  and  honest  motives,  and  not  by  those  which  were  so  freely 
attributed  to  them  by  the  popular  mind  and  the  public  press.  Hence  the  expres¬ 
sion  of  the  opinion,  in  the  statement,  that  the  majority  were  influenced  in  their 
action  on  this  subject  by  “an  extreme  desire  for  conciliation  and  unanimity.” 
No  unworthy  motive  is  charged  upon  them,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  their 
consciences  they  believed  they  were  doing  what  was  best  both  for  the  Church 
and  the  country.  The  popular  mind  does  not  always  discriminate,  and  often 
forms  a  hasty  judgment;  and  in  this  case  many  have  seized  upon  the  failure  of 
the  Convention  to  express  certain  sentiments  as  a  sure  proof  that  opposite  senti¬ 
ments  were  actually  held,  and  that  the  great  body  of  the  Bishops  and  Deputies 
were  destitute  of  true  patriotism,  and  at  heart  disloyal  to  the  government  under 
which  they  live.  I  regret  most  deeply  that  such  an  impression  has  been  made 
upon  the  popular  mind  of  our  country,  and  I  did  what  I  could  to  prevent  it.  If 
the  Convention  took  any  action  whatever  upon  National  affairs,  I  wanted  it  to  be 
thorough  and  outspoken.  Otherwise,  I  preferred  that  it  should  be  entirely  silent. 

I  thought  that  we  could  say  all  that  would  be  necessary,  without  giving  just  of¬ 
fence  to  our  Southern  brethren,  and  without  intruding  upon  what  are  called  poli¬ 
tics.  You  well  know  my  great  dislike  for  extraneous  preaching  and  extraneous 
Church  legislation.  My  views  are  by  some  regarded  as  extreme  in  this  respect; 
but  at  such  a  crisis  as  that  through  which  we  have  just  panssed  as  a  nation,  I 
have  felt  that  the  Pulpit  anl  the  Church  had  an  appointed  duty  to  discharge; 
though,  at  the  same  time,  I  have  discouraged  what  have  been  termed  “  war  ser¬ 
mons,”  and  have  invariably,  in  my  own  discourses  and  Convention  addresses, 
confined  myself  to  a  strictly  religious  view  of  the  war,  and  avoided  those  detailed 
allusions  which  might  be  regarded  as  political  and  secular  in  their  character  and 
tendencies.  I  hope  I  have  not  failed  in  my  duty  to  my  country,  either  in  my 
private  life  or  in  my  public  teaching.  The  community  in  which  my  lot  is  cast 
know  where  I  have  stood,  and  how  I  have  felt;  and  yet  I  have  not  considered 
myself  called  upon  to  pursue  such  a  course  as  to  stir  up  bitterness  and  strife,  and 
make  the  House  of  Gfod  an  unwelcome  place  to  any  class  of  devout  worshippers, 
or  to  make  myself  conspicuous  among  my  fellow- citizens  in  any  character  or  ca¬ 
pacity  inconsistent  with  the  sacred  office  which  I  hold  as  a  minisier  of  J esus  Christ. 

I  did  not  design,  however,  to  say  so  much  of  myself  or  of  my  course  during  the 
war.  What  E  hare  thus  said  has  come  in  incidentally.  It  is  now  lime  to  draw 
to  a  close  what  I  intended  should  be  a  much  more  brief  communication.  You 
see  what  my  own  preference  was  in  regard  to  the  action  of  the  General  Conven¬ 
tion.  The  historical  crisis  through  which  the  nation  had  passed,  being  unprece¬ 
dented  and  momentous;  and  Got,  in  his  wonderful  Providence,  having  brought 
us  out  of  our  troubles  by  a  mighty  hand  and  a  slretched-out  arm,  preserving  the 
Union  and  destroying  slavery,  as  well  as  giving  “  peace  to  the  country  and  unity 
to  the  Church,”  I  was  in  favor  of  recognizing  all  these  great  blessings  when  we 
came  before  His  presence  with  thanksgiving.  The  majority  judged  otherwise,  for 
the  reasons  already  stated,  and  because,  as  they  urged,  we  were  representing  the 
whole  Church  again,  and  not  merely  a  portion  of  it,  as  in  1862.  The  record  of 
the  Convention  is  made  up;  its  action  has  become  history;  its  influence  has  gone 
abroad.  In  my  opinion,  too  much  was  yielded  to  the  South;  but  if  an  error  was 
committed,  it  was  the  effect  of  “an  caireme  desire  for  conciliation  and  unanimity,  ” 
and  was  not  the  fruit  of  disloyalty.  The  Church  may  suffer  in  some  quarters 
from  an  opposite  impression;  but  the  charge  of  disloyalty  upon  the  Convention, 
as  a  body,  I  believe  to  be  unfounded  and  unjust.  This  I  feel  bound  to  insist  upon 
as  a  matter  of  simple  justice  to  my  brother  Bishops  and  the  members  of  the  Con¬ 
vention  generally.  Many  untouched  points  of  interest  and  importance  press  upon, 
my  mind,  but  I  can  proceed  no  further. 

Praying  that  all  these  things  may  be  overruled  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  and 
the  glory  of  God,  and  invoking  the  Divine  benediction  upon  our  beloved  and  re¬ 
united  country,  I  am 

Your  affectionate  friend  and  Bishop,  HENBY  W.  LEE. 


